Tokidoki
by Lilbakasaru
Summary: Sometimes fate will throw you a wild card that changes everything. But for Inuyasha will this change lead to something better? SesshInu mpreg
1. It could be worse, right?

**I OWN NOTHING!**

_Well here is the second Inuyasha fic I had promised. This one will have __**Kagome bashing**__, because I want to explore different ways of writing the story. So while __**'Our Story'**__ will be more fluffy and cute, __**'Tokidoki'**__ will be more angsty with some 'hurt/comfort' thrown in. After these two I want to write a more modern AU, and also a KougaInu fic. So yeah, I'm kinda going through all the themes. Hope to many people wont have a problem with that._

_Well with that done, I hope you all enjoy! Thank you for reading_

_Beta read by the wonderful Kiya-chan!_

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><p>Chapter one: It could be worse, right?<p>

"SIT, SIT, SIT!"

Oh how he hated that word.

That single word managed to shatter his whole world, over and over again.

He couldn't breathe as his head was crushed into the ground. His lungs felt like they were going to explode from the pressure. Rocks and dirt went into his mouth; scratching his gums and making them bleed. The pressure didn't seem to stop, he was sure his nose and jaw were broken by now, so he simply laid there too tired too move. He laid there hearing her light footfalls as she stepped away from his prone form, huffing and muttering in anger about how 'insensitive' he was.

Right, insensitive.

Inuyasha staggered up into a crouching position, he spat out the dirty blood, already feeling his mouth starting to slowly heal. The Hanyou rubbed his neck where painful bruises from the beads were starting to form, what had he done now to deserve this?

Oh yeah, he volunteered to scout the surrounding area. Kagome had then accused him of slacking off; they had argued and then she had sat him into oblivion. He always scouted the area off first before they set up camp, that's one of the reasons why he always went ahead of their little group. Yet recently he had been feeling sluggish, and weighed down, so he hadn't managed to complete his normal tasks. It took him longer to heal, and his skin felt more sensitive; maybe it just had something to do with the fact that the he was so close to the new moon. Still for some reason this felt different from all the other times he transformed into a human.

He could hear Miroku, and Sango talking with Kagome, asking her to calm down; but she kept on throwing a tantrum like a child. Inuyasha could already feel a vibe coming off her, which only promised him more pain. So with one last glance he staggered away from the group and deep into the dark forest.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

A wolf youkai perked from his perch, sniffing the air vigorously. Kouga he had been following Kagome's scent for hours now, her group never stayed in one place for too long and that just made it difficult for him to track her down. Except now there was a different scent nearby that had caught his attention, it was sweet, and absolutely delectable.

His pupils dilated with euphoria, it was calling to him, but as he continued to sniff the air he noticed something particular. Under that sweet scent however he could smell that half-breed Inuyasha. It was a mystery. The Ookami licked his lips in anticipation; this was something that he would have to investigate.

Kouga enhanced the power of the shards in his legs, to increase his speed tenfold. He couldn't wait to see what this was about, and dove head straight into the forest.

**OoOoOoOoOoO **

Sesshoumaru strode elegantly through long grassy fields; his long silver hair waving in the gentle breeze. Although the wind carried with it more than just cool air, but also a distinctive scent that lit a fire through his veins. He stopped in his tracks suddenly causing his retainer Jaken to collide into him. Sesshoumaru only gave him a passing glare, and the imp scurried away from him in fear.

The Daiyoukai turned to sniff the air again, to make sure his over sensitive nose wasn't fooling him. But no he was right the first time, it was Inuyasha, yet there was something different about his scent that he could not place. It was spicy and full of pheromones, and even caused the Inuyoukai's cold eyes to widened.

"What trouble are you causing now Otouto...?" he murmured to himself. Sesshoumaru turned to look sternly at Jaken. "Jaken I need for you to take Rin back to the castle; I have some business to attend to and will follow on later, understood?"

"H-hai Lord Sesshoumaru!" the imp squeaked and quickly ran towards Ah-Un.

"Will you be back soon?" asked Rin in her usual cheery voice.

"Yes Rin." She smiled and gave him a quick hug, Sesshoumaru stiffed at the contact, no matter how many times she hugged him he never got used to it. She dislodged herself from him and then ran towards Ah-Un while waving him goodbye. He didn't wave back; instead he gave her a curt nod and stood there till they were out of sight. Then he turned around followed the scent that would lead him to Inuyasha.

**OoOoOoOoOoO **

Inuyasha had found a nice large tree, with thick branches and a dense canopy of leaves to hide him from everyone's view. He jumped up high 'til he found the most comfortable branch and sat down with his back resting against the rough bark. The Hanyou was so tired as of late, not to mention how his powers were starting to flux, one moment he would feel energetic, and the next thing he knew it would all drain out leaving him tired and cranky.

Of course Kagome had not been happy with that, and they had gotten into even more arguments then usually, which lead to him getting 'Sat' more often.

He hissed in pain when he tried to move his head around from to side-to-side, his healing abilities had gotten slower as well. Usually he would have been able to heal from something like this in seconds, but minutes were turning into hours and his neck still hurt. Maybe sleep would cure him.

Although getting back to the group so late would only cause him to suffer more 'sit's'. Then again he couldn't help it now, because before he knew it, he was already asleep.

...

Inuyasha didn't know how long it was that he had slept, or for that matter what was waking him up now. He felt a light nuzzling at his neck, the Hanyou tried to move whatever thing it was away from him in his half-asleep stupor, but a gentle growl stopped his movements. His body stiffened when he felt something wet glide up his neck, sucking the pulse from the jugular vein. He whined at this new sensation. The suckling stopped, and the figure shifted away from him. Yet whoever it was still looming too close to him.

"Damn puppy, you taste as good as you smell," that snide remark was what woke the Hanyou up from completely his half-asleep state. He looked up at the towering figure and almost fell out of the tree when he saw who it was.

"Kouga!" he exclaimed, as he wiped off the saliva off his neck.

The Ookami just smiled smugly at him, canines glinting in the moon light, Inuyasha shuddered when he noticed the red tint that seemed to cloud his usually crystal blue eyes. Inuyasha took a deep breath of air and he tried to be brave, so he sat up and placed his hands inside the sleeves of his Haori and glared at the wolf prince.

"Kouga, you flea bitten mutt what are you doing here?"

Kouga ignored the outburst and continued. "Who'd have thought that the 'great' Inuyasha was destined to become someone's bitch!"

Inuyasha's glare hardened; and his anger exploded. "What the hell are you on about, you stupid wolf?" he growled out. Kouga just kept smiling; a pink tongue darted out from between the row of sharp teeth to lick his lips. The wolf prince leaned down so that their foreheads almost touched, and took a deep whiff of Inuyasha's scent.

"You smell like a bitch in heat Inuyasha, that's what I mean..." he purred out, his hot breath tickling the Hanyou's already sensitive skin and making his shiver. Kouga took another whiff of Inuyasha's scent, and frowned slightly. "Although you aren't quite ripe yet, but I can wait."

Inuyasha gritted his teeth together, and tried to push the wolf away. The Hanyou growled, but instead of it coming out threateningly he only managed to do a pitiful whimper. The wolf chuckled and Inuyasha felt that tongue glide over him again.

"K-Kouga stop it!"

But the wolf didn't seem to listen, instead he just pushed his hard body against Inuyasha's, while his hands clasped onto the Hanyou's pushing them away from his chest and forcing them again the bark. Inuyasha shut his eyes, he struggled against Kouga's hold, but he felt so weak and tired his youkai just wanted to melt against the hard body, but his human side was screaming at him to get away. He went with his human side; he didn't want the wolf on him.

"STOP IT!" he screamed out.

"It might be best if you listen to him Ookami." Kouga turned around swiftly when hearing the new voice. He growled threateningly at the intruder who had dared to disturb him. "Don't growl at me you disgusting low-life wolf, unless you'd like to be at the receiving end of this Sesshoumaru's poison?"

Wait? What? Sesshoumaru? As in his brother Sesshoumaru? No that couldn't be right. He must have misheard it. Inuyasha took a tentative sniff of the air, and gasped. It was Sesshoumaru's scent.

Inuyasha felt like crying, his brother was there right in front of him, probably sneering at him about how he could be subdued so easily by a lowly demon such as Kouga. Cautiously Inuyasha slowly opened his eyes. Kouga was crouching in front of him with his back turned towards Inuyasha, while he growled and snapped at the powerful Daiyoukai like some rabid animal.

But when he saw Sesshoumaru he almost pissed his pants. The Daiyoukai looked furious; his usual passive face was etched into a scowl, baring his teeth threateningly. Inuyasha had also noticed that his brother had drawn out Toukijin, and was holding onto to the hilt of the sword in anger. Both of the demons were in attack position, with their youki flaring up in agitation of a fight.

Suddenly Kouga pounced onto Sesshoumaru, who drew his sword upwards and hitting the wolf square across his face with the hilt of Toukijin, sending the Ookami flying into the branches. The sound of branches braking and bark being shattered could be heard, as Kouga collided into a tree, but with a ferocious growl he run back, his sharp claws poised to dig into Sesshoumaru's flesh. The Daiyoukai put his sword back into its sheath and quickly extended his poison tipped claws to grabbed Kouga with deadly accuracy around his neck, raising him into the air.

Inuyasha could only watch, mesmerised by the fight, the fluid motions of Sesshoumaru against the brashness of Kouga. He didn't even notice that Kouga was in the verge of dying by his brothers poisons claws digging deeper into his neck, until he heard a pained yowl from the wolf. Inuyasha jumped up. He didn't know what he was doing; he didn't even know why he did such a suicidal move. All that he knew was that he had to do something; but why did he have to wrap his arms around Sesshoumaru's waist?

"Let him go Sesshoumaru, he isn't worth it..." Inuyasha whimpered out.

Sesshoumaru stopped, his posture relaxed against Inuyasha's hold, he growled softly and swung his arm around tossing Kouga back inside the forest. Scurrying could be heard as the wolf fled deeper into the woods and away from them. Inuyasha sighed heavily and relaxed his grip on Sesshoumaru. He breathed in his brothers' musky scent and almost melted against him. He was still panicking but he couldn't bring himself to move away from his brother's strong body. Although he mildly wondered what his brother would do about his 'lowly half-breed brother' touching his esteemed self. Maybe he should think about running away as quickly as his legs could carry him?

Inuyasha slowly, and with some effort let go taking a few hesitant steps back. Sesshoumaru still wasn't moving, so he hoped that his brother was giving him the chance to run away before deciding cleave him in half. Usually he would have stayed and fought, but in his unusual condition he didn't think he could.

"Inuyasha..." the Hanyou froze in his steps. Was Sesshoumaru mad? Of course the bastard is mad, when has he in his lifetime had he not been mad at him? "Why are you so afraid Hanyou...?"

'WHAT?' That little voice in his mind shouted. He looked at Sesshoumaru bewilderedly, but the Daiyoukai just stared back in his usual stoic state. Inuyasha took a deep gulp of air and glared at the older youkai. "Who says I'm afraid you asshole? Because I'm not afraid so just fuck the hell off!"

"Then why are you shaking Little brother...?"

Inuyasha frowned and looked down at himself and just like Sesshoumaru had said, he was shaking. He couldn't be that afraid of Sesshoumaru, or was it what Kouga almost did to him that had him in such great shock? He needed to get away...

"Piss off you bastard-"

"I can't do that half-breed, especially not in your... condition."

"What the hell is that meant to mean?" asked Inuyasha as he took another shaky step back from his older brother. Sesshoumaru lifted a delicate eyebrow, and noticing the movement took a step towards him.

"Don't tell me that you haven't noticed how your scent has changed."

"_You smell like a bitch in heat Inuyasha..."_ Kouga's words echoed through his mind.

"W-what does that have to do with anything?"

Sesshoumaru frowned "Don't you know what is happening? Hasn't that cowardly retainer of yours taught you anything about this?"

Inuyasha just kept staring at him in confusion and fear, Sesshoumaru sighed and sat down elegantly on the branch. "Sit down Inuyasha, there is a lot of explaining that I have to do."

"Why the hell should I trust you-" he stopped when the deadly glare that the Daiyoukai passed him, and quickly sat down on the branch himself.

The Lord of the West was quiet; he regarded Inuyasha with great interest as if inspecting a foreign specimen of some kind. He didn't know how to tell the ill-tempered Hanyou such...delicate, you could say, information. It's not like something like this happened very often; maybe once every few hundred years, but as usually starting at the beginning would be the best.

"Inuyasha, what do you know about a Demon hitting maturity?" Inuyasha just blinked a few times but didn't say anything.

Sesshoumaru sighed inwardly, it seemed like that old flea had taught the boy nothing... "Every youkai goes through a period of maturing, it is usually after this time that they take mates and can bring on offspring. Before that time if any youkai is involved in anything sexual there would be no chance of attaining young, so that time you spent with that dead miko would have been pointless."

Inuyasha gritted his teeth together but Sesshoumaru continued on. "It is very rare, but there are some male youkai that are gifted with a special ability that makes them very valuable," se stopped, and tried to reconsider his words carefully.

"And...what is that ability?" Inuyasha asked, getting impatient.

"Some males… in very rare cases can give birth."

"WHAT?" Inuyasha sprang up, and stared at his brother with a mixture shock and surprise.

"It's true little brother, even if it is rare it can happen, you for one are one of those-"

"You've got be fucking kidding me! There is no way in hell that is possible! This is fucking crazy!" Inuyasha started pacing around, he didn't like the idea of where this was going, he didn't want to hear anymore, he needed to get away! He stood up getting ready escape, but Sesshoumaru continued.

"No it isn't Hanyou, in the past few days you must have felt different from usual; and then there is your scent or are you telling me you hadn't noticed that it has changed."

Inuyasha stopped in his tracks, his breathing was laboured, and his heart felt like it was going to explode from his chest. But Sesshoumaru was right, he had been feeling weird he thought it was first because of the closeness of the new moon, and now with what Kouga had told him...

It couldn't be… could it...?

It didn't take Inuyasha long to think about it. That bastard was always right, and he wasn't one to lie about this kid of shit!

"Inuyasha sit down," the Hanyou didn't move; his mind was in too much turmoil to even comprehend what was happening. It was all too much…

"Snap out of it Otouto, and sit down!" Inuyasha turned his head to look at his brother; his usual determined face was a picture of misery.

"What do I do now? I don't think I could deal with this, no one else will understand..." he muttered to himself.

"That's why I'm here little brother; I will take care of you till you can find a suitable mate..."

"YOU?" Inuyasha felt the hate, anger and confusion that had been welling up inside burst out, he needed to blame someone for this and Sesshoumaru was the perfect person for that. "You are the one person who has been trying to kill me since I was born and now you want to look after me? No fucking way asshole! You can fuck right the hell way-"

In a blink of an eye Sesshoumaru was up, and grabbed onto Inuyasha's hands binding them with his mokomoko-san behind him.

"Let me go you bastard! LET ME GO!" He screamed while fighting against the bindings. Sesshoumaru didn't listen instead he used his right hand to wrap around Inuyasha's waist and pull him down into his lap; he growled softly hoping to calm the scared boy down. Soon the trashing subsided and Inuyasha remained there panting heavily.

"Why...why after all this time...?"

"Little brother this affects both of us, any pups that you bear will have eligibility to be heirs to the Western Lands. If you had managed to ever couple with a human it wouldn't have mattered, they would have died after a few years; but if a demon ever found you and ever managed to couple with you-"

"I would have never let that happen!"

"Really...what about when that Ookami attacked you?" Inuyasha went silent, he remembered how that encounter turned out; he couldn't even defend himself against that mutt...but why?

"In a few days you will go into your first heat, meaning that your youkai will be more docile towards other males, it can't be helped; you may not want it but your youki calls out for them," the Daiyoukai said as if almost reading his mind. "Usually females stay close to their fathers in their first heat for protection but since father isn't here anymore that duty falls to me."

"Oh please the Old man asked you to look after me when I was young and you abandoned me anyway-"

"Yes, a mistake on my part, but this is about tradition and honour of protecting what's mine..." he used his hand to grab Inuyasha's chin and turn his face towards himself. Sesshoumaru gazed into those sun burned golden eyes. "Or would you prefer that I left you out here to be raped by some rugged youkai?" the Daiyoukai hissed.

Inuyasha whimpered, all of his senses were quickly telling him to submit; he had angered a much more powerful alpha which he shouldn't have done. He shook his head in negation. Head filled so many conflicting thoughts.

"Good," Sesshoumaru said and released the younger man from his grasps. Inuyasha quickly scurried up into a standing position away from his brother.

Sesshoumaru followed suite although in a much more dignified manner then his brother. He wiped away any imaginary dust from his kimono and frowned at Inuyasha. The Hanyou had his head bowed, his eyes averted while he exposed the vulnerable part of his neck in perfect submission. Even if Inuyasha didn't like it, it's already starting to happen; his body will tell him to submit during the heat to any stronger male.

"We'll be leaving right now, gather your things and we'll move."

"What about my pack? I can't just leave them behind!" Sesshoumaru looked at him in his usual stoic manner, but Inuyasha remained standing even if his youkai was telling him to back down. The Daiyoukai barely managed to suppress the smirk that was quirking on his lips.

"Hn...if I can tolerate one human, then I can tolerate a few more, bring your ningen companions with you and then I shall escort you all back to the castle safely."

Inuyasha nodded and lead the way, at least now he wouldn't be completely alone with his brother, but now he had the job of explaining things to his friends...

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><p><em>Well, what do you think? Good, bad, simply horrendous and overdone? Do tell!<em>

_Review and join the dark side we have cookies!_


	2. Journey 'home'

_Here is chapter 2! I'm glad that people so far have enjoyed what I have, hopefully I can keep up the pace. Sadly things will get more depressing for poor Inuyasha before it gets better. But hey it will be exciting!_

_Beta read by the wonderful Kiya-chan!_

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><p>Chapter two: Journey 'home'<p>

Inuyasha was nervous, and who wouldn't be with mister 'Killing-perfection' behind them, as they slowly made their way to more pain caused by a pretty little girl and her 'Osuwari'. It was like he was trapped, he couldn't even run away from this situation. One because of obligation, second because of his own fear.

He sighed heavily; nothing was going his way, then again when did it? Getting sat by Kagome; literally molested by that wimpy wolf and now being dragged back home by his brother. Oh he was just peachy. All he needed now was to add Naraku into the mix and everything would be bloody perfect! But that didn't happen since they entered the clearing where everyone had set up camp, his footsteps faltered slightly at the sight of his friends.

"Inuyasha!" shouted Kagome when she caught sight of him. "Where have you been? SI-" but she stopped half-way through her tantrum when she noticed the intimidating figure looming behind him.

"Sesshoumaru!" the whole group jumped up and grabbed their weapons ready for a fight. Inuyasha quickly raised his hand, telling them to lower their weapons.

"Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru is behind you!" Kagome shouted; her bow poised and ready to shoot.

God how stupid did she think he was. "Don't ya' think I know that wench? Now lower your weapons, he ain't gonna hurt us," at least not for now, Inuyasha thought.

Kagome bit her bottom lip, suppressing the 'sit' command that was trying to make its way out. Instead she lowered her bow, watching carefully as he went past her and sat down by a nearby tree, and surprisingly enough his brother followed him to sit down beside him. She stomped her feet in irritation, but it was obvious that she wouldn't get any answers right now. So she went back to the dinner she and Sango were preparing. Soon everyone joined her although there was a definite tension hanging in the with Sesshoumaru's sudden arrival, especially Shippo who was hiding behind Miroku.

The Daiyoukai frowned glancing around the ragtag team. "Are you sure you want to take your pack with you Otouto?" he heard a growl from Inuyasha.

"Of course I have to, they are my responsibility," he snapped.

"And what if they don't want to go?"

"Would you just leave it!" he went silent for a while but Sesshoumaru knew that he was contemplating the situation, and working out all possible solutions. He watched as the Hanyou slowly stood up drawing the attention of the rest of his group towards him. He walked up towards them clearing his throat. "Everyone, we are going to stay with Sesshoumaru at the ancestral home in the western lands."

"..." the group was quiet, until little Shippo spoke up. "Are you demented Inuyasha?"

"Why you little brat!"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome intervened hiding the fox kid behind her.

Miroku cleared his throat, and walked in-between them in an attempt to stop the death glares passing among his friends. "I think what Shippo was actually trying to ask was, where this sudden decision came from?"

Inuyasha grumbled under his breath, really wanting not to go into this but answered. "It's mating season in a few days..." he didn't want to say more than that. He didn't want his friends to know of the sudden changes he was going through, it was all too embarrassing.

The group went silent again; looking at each other as in confusion and bewilderment. Kagome blushed, no doubt her mind getting the wrong idea, although by now he was glad that he couldn't mate with her when the time came. Not that mating with some dude would be any better, probably would be the lesser of two evils.

Sesshoumaru sighed behind him, when he stood up as well. "None of you are under any obligation to accompany us; it will just be safer for Inuyasha to stay in the castle, where I can look after him."

"Of course we are going!" Kagome shouted out. "We wouldn't leave Inuyasha behind, how long does this mating season last?"

Sesshoumaru frowned in irritation, he didn't like how this girl showed no respect towards him, even his brothers other ningen friends seems to have more tact. "...Two weeks at the most." Although he didn't mention that Inuyasha would be staying a lot longer than that.

"Alright let's leave in the morning!" Kagome replied enthusiastically.

The inuyoukai bit back a growl; it wouldn't do for him to show his emotions so freely, but what gall of this ningen. Who was she to order him around? Truly she held no respect towards him or anyone else it would seem, not even to his brother who was Alpha of this pack. He sneered; maybe he should teach this girl a lesson...

Almost, as if reading his mind, Inuyasha turned around and gave him a look at that stated not to do anything. He snorted inwardly, even if this was his brother's pack, the girl should know better or at least the brat should have 'educated' that girl himself.

So instead of doing anything else, he went back towards his claimed spot to sit, soon his brother joined him, and Sesshoumaru had to suppress a smirk. His youkai was definitely causing his brother to stay close to him, obviously his aura exuded 'protection' which made the Hanyou more comfortable. They watched the rest of the group go to bed, and as the campfire slowly die down to glowing embers.

"You should sleep Otouto," he said barely above a whisper.

"I need to keep watch, you sleep," his brother hissed back defiantly.

"Sleep Otouto, you need to rest," although now it came out more of a command.

He heard Inuyasha grumble and curse under his breath, and the sound of shifting as his brother adjusted to a better position, then silence. Sesshoumaru smirked again, 'so docile', he thought.

**OoOoOoOoO**

The mismatched group walked through the wide open field, Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha taking up the lead as they went on the long journey home. Although if it weren't for the human's slowing them down they would have already been there.

"How long does it actually take to get to your castle?" Kagome asked her legs ready to drop off from all this walking.

"We would have already been there by now, if you didn't want to rest every few minutes wench!"

"Inuyasha," came the threatening tone from the young miko, Inuyasha instantly quietened, but kept glaring ahead of him.

But Inuyasha was right, Sesshoumaru thought. They could have been there a few hours ago if it weren't for the miko wanting to rest, at the pace they were going it would most likely take another day. He snorted inwardly at them, humans were always so weak. They would have to get to back soon, staying so out in the open left them exposed to attack, especially with Inuyasha's pheromones attracting demons to them.

He turned towards the Taijiya. "How many can that neko of yours support?" he asked

Sango was taken aback by the demon lord actually speaking to her, but quickly composed herself and answered. "At least two people, maybe three."

Sesshoumaru nodded, "Alright you and the monk should ride on it then with the kit, Inuyasha carry the girl. This journey is taking longer than it should."

Once again Inuyasha grumbled hating how he was being ordered around like this. He squatted down to let Kagome climb on his back; at least she didn't have the weird metal wheeling thing with her. That would have been more annoying to carry it as well as her. He could tell that everyone was surprised by his sudden compliance, but no one commented on it which he was glad of.

Sesshoumaru gathered his Ki around him to create his usual cloud and flew high into the sky. They continued on their journey, although this time at a much quicker pace than before.

After a few more hours of travel the castle came into view, he heard gasps and whispers of awe from the ningen behind him. Which was to be expected after all the structure was impressive. High walls surrounding a large ornate castle, spiralling towers reaching high into the sky. Wide stain-glass windows, and impressive stone statues depicting fully transformed Inuyoukai in different poses dotted around the grounds.

The castle was an architectural design copy of a foreign country. Their father had always wanted something different from what all the other Lords had; he always did like to show off. They reached the gates, which where guarded by two black haired Inuyoukai, they bowed down for Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha, but looked at the humans more apprehensively. Obviously not sure what to do with them, but if their Lord was alright with it then it should be fine.

Once again everyone was stunned at seeing the inside of the castle, high ceilings which arched and pillars that supported the ceiling; and large bay windows let some light through. Stairs in the far ends of the room lead to two large double doors. Paintings decorated the walls, depicting ancestors and others who were held with importance. Inuyasha also noticed that there was a large amount of vases filled with flowers; he didn't think they were to Sesshoumaru's taste, but rather that of the young ningen girl that he kept around.

Inuyasha sneered when he noticed that his friends were uncharacteristically quiet, they were impressed, well he was as well...but he wasn't going to admit that to anyone; especially not to Sesshoumaru.

Speaking of that bastard, he was talking to that little imp in hushed tones. Jaken looked terrified at the prospects of having the Hanyou and more ningen staying, but he bowed quickly and hurried off to tell the servants to prepare the guest rooms. The Daiyoukai turned and regarded his guest with boredom.

"While your rooms are being prepared you can freshen up, food has already been prepared. Leave your things there a servant will bring them later to your rooms," he instructed, then quickly turned around and made his way towards what Inuyasha thought was the dining area.

And he was right.

The dining area was even bigger than the entrance hall; low tables circled the room in a square shape, with large piles of cushions underneath them to sit down. One side of the table was already laden with food, and the smell of succulent cooked meats was making his mouth water.

What surprised him more though was that the human girl that tagged along with his brother was also there. Standing at attention by her seat, she smiled but said nothing as the guests came in.

"Sit," Sesshoumaru said and sat down himself at the head of the table.

Inuyasha was about to sit by Miroku, when he felt the strong pull of Sesshoumaru's youkai, he turned around and saw his brother glaring at him.

"Inuyasha you must sit beside me," Sesshoumaru didn't elaborate any further, it was a simple command and Inuyasha knew he had to follow it.

He sighed and slowly made his way towards his brother, all the time feeling his friends gazes on his back, they all must be wondering why he wasn't arguing. Nevertheless Inuyasha ignored it all and sat down on the empty cushion beside his brother. While he did that a few servants came around carrying a basin with water in one hand and a towel in the other, the humans didn't know what to do with that. They watched Sesshoumaru simply dip his clawed hands in the water and use the towel to dry them afterwards, and copied the motion. The servants picked up the dirtied bowls and left with them after that.

"Eat," Sesshoumaru said in a monotones voice; and everyone started piling food into their plates, just as Inuyasha was reaching for some roasted chicken his brother stopped him.

The Hanyou suppressed a growl that was making itself out; he looked at his brother questioningly. "What?" he snapped.

"Don't take that tone with me pup!" Inuyasha instantly lowered his head in submission, a smirk tugged on Sesshoumaru lips.

"Am I not allowed to eat anything?" he heard the Hanyou murmur hatefully.

"Of course you are Otouto, but this isn't our food."

As soon as Sesshoumaru said that more servants came in each holding onto a large silver platter filled with raw meat. Inuyasha felt himself salivating at the sight, raw meat. He hadn't had any of that since Kagome's arrival, she had something against it, and he got 'sat' so many times that he tried to avoid it.

But it seemed like Kagome was about to ruin it again. "You can't eat that! It's bad for you!"

Sesshoumaru arched a delicate eyebrow "I assure you that raw meat is an essential part of a demons diet, unlike when cooking meat which takes a large amount of the vital nutrients away. It hinders the development of a demon, which would explain as to why that fox kit of yours is so small at its current age." This got little Shippo's attention.

"What's that meant to mean?" she demanded, a light blush making its way up her cheeks. Inuyasha couldn't tell if it was from embarrassment or anger, possibly both.

The inuyoukai quirked an eyebrow and turned to look at the confused fox kit. "Tell me kit, how old are you?"

His little green eyes widened at the question and he looked away from the older demon. "8," he mumbled.

The Daiyoukai frowned. "Your real age fox," he demanded.

Everyone gasped out in shock. Inuyasha cursed, this couldn't end well

Shippo himself was stunned. "W-what...?" but the Sesshoumaru just glared at the fox angrily, Shippo sighed, he'd been found out. "40, I'm 40..." well it wasn't that old in demonic terms, still just a child, yet with Shippo's size...

"As I was saying Miko, at his age he should be at least be the same size as Rin if not taller, Kitsune's are tall and slender creatures, and so far you have neglected him terribly," he stated snidely and picked up a large fork to serve some pieces of the raw meat into his and Inuyasha's plates.

Yet the Hanyou couldn't even focus on his plate, he knew that Shippo wasn't eight, of course he knew that but the rest of the group didn't. They would be too quick to judge, not taking into account how demons aged. The Kitsune looked ashamed, even the usually boisterous Kagome was now quietly staring at the fox. "Is that true?" she asked,

Shippo just nodded as a reply, and for a second it looked like Kagome was about to hit him.

"Kagome leave it, even at 40 he's still just a pup." Inuyasha himself at 250 was just entering his late teens while his brother at 700 was barely an adult. Demons aged slower the older they got. It was all part of survival, they would age quickly from birth, and then after the first 5 to 6 years they would age slowly. That was only once they hit maturity when they would practically stop aging.

She passed a glare towards Inuyasha and then returned back to her food, not even caring to fill the fox's plate like she usually would have. Moreover to everyone's surprise Sesshoumaru did it instead, and when Shippo looked up at with a dumb expression the older demon who just sighed and commanded him to eat.

The rest of the meal continued in ominous silence, glances were being thrown at each other, especially at Kagome and Shippo. Inuyasha was worried; his submissive beta was rearing its ugly caring side out, and telling him to comfort Shippo. The Kittling was practically his adopted son, and seeing him put under the spot like that made him feel uncomfortable. He sub-consciously whined, which caught Sesshoumaru's attention, he spared the Hanyou a glance, noticing the desperation in those sun burned eyes.

He's worried, that much Sesshoumaru could tell, and for some reason that bothered him. It was just his own instincts making themselves known, his alpha youkai wanting to take care of the beta. That really annoyed Sesshoumaru, because he didn't want to, traitorous youki. Inuyasha wasn't the only one having to deal with odd emotions. However he would have to remedy this situation.

"Stop your senseless whining pup," he snapped. Inuyasha instantly stopped and looked down at his plate, and now that submissive gesture made him even more irritant. "Stop snivelling, and eat." he growled out.

And Inuyasha started following that order fearfully. Kami he hated not being in control.

After lunch Inuyasha left the table abruptly, he couldn't sit there any longer being influenced so heavily by his brother. Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe he was just better off staying in the forest, then again thinking about the near miss attack from Kouga it might not be such a good idea.

Inuyasha sighed heavily, he hated not being in control and right now he was being forced to do things he would never do without a good fight. Now all it took was a glance, just like Kagome and her 'sit' commands.

How frightening that they were both so similar.

Inuyasha turned to look out of a window, his expression mournfully depressed.

He just hoped these two weeks would end quickly, before he went mad.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

Kagome was actually very happy, for the first since she entered the Feudal era she felt that she had some privacy. They all were given their own separate rooms, their own space, and what rooms they were! Her quarters currently was the size of the lounge back in her time, a large bed with translucent drapes hanging down to cover it, she moved them to the side to see that there were a large amount of cushions against the head-bored. Even the sheets were made out of the finest silk. On the floor was a thick carpet that felt wonderful between her naked toes.

The room itself was connected a hot spring, how they got the water to pump all the way up her she didn't know nor cared. A huge wardrobe was on the other side of the bed, she tentatively opened it and gasped in marvel at all the fine silk kimono's inside. Beside the bed there was a writing desk and at the one side there were two big bay-windows that led out to a balcony. The view from up here was amazing; she could see the lake, the forest and rolling hills. Clear blue skies, and just near the edge of her vision of what looked like a small village dotted around.

Oh yeah, she could get used to this.

All she needed now was a strapping silver haired Hanyou in the bed with her and things would be great.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

Inuyasha had finally managed to calm down. He didn't even understand why he was being so emotional. Obviously it was his stupid beta side causing him to act this way. Yet as long as he stayed away from his older brother he had some semblance of normality. It was mid-afternoon now. He and Shippo were relaxing out in the palaces huge back-garden. However Inuyasha was bored, usually they would be walking the land in search of Naraku or the jewel shards, so this 'peace' unnerved him.

The Hanyou could feel someone staring at him, he titled his head to the side only see Shippo looking away quickly. Inuyasha cursed, he forgot about Shippo, the Kitsune could possibly smell the difference in his scent; but seemed to be afraid to ask about it. Which Inuyasha was glad of, he didn't know how to explain this to the young youkai what was happening to him, and after all he himself didn't fully understand it.

So he finally took his chance to train the Fox kit without Kagome's interference, it would be a great distraction, and Shippo really needed it. By the time Inuyasha was 8 years old his mother had taught him how to track and hunt, the basics of survival, Shippo compared to that was far behind. His nose was unreliable and he was scared of virtually everything, although his courage was improving. Yet out in the wilds courage wasn't enough, if you didn't know the basics you wouldn't even have a chance.

The garden would be a large enough area to do some tracking practice; there were many places to hide. So he went inside and gathered up some small item's he found in his room, and then called out to Shippo to gain the Kitsune's attention.

"Oi, brat time for some training."

"Now?" the young fox asked, a slightly bit annoyed at having his 'sleep' interrupted.

"Best way to pass the time," he answered back.

Shippo huffed and walked towards Inuyasha dejectedly. The Hanyou was holding a small bundle of items in his arms, the Kitsune arched an eyebrow. What was going to happen now, he wondered.

"Alright then brat, see these things? I want you to take in their scent," he said, Shippo jumped over to the older youkai and started sniffing them memorising their scent. "Good, now I'm going to cover them in my own scent, close your eyes Shippo I'm going to hide them."

He strained his aura around the objects then when he was sure they were musky with his scent did he start hiding them around the area. To make it more difficult he covered them in earth so to dampen their smell, and spread his own scent around random area's s as to confuse the fox. The objective was to find the right item only by scent, which would be hard with other scents covering them.

"'Kay Shippo you can open your eyes now. Listen well brat I've hidden the items around the grounds, I want you to find them in the order I tell you. Ready?" Shippo nodded determinately, balling up his little fists to show his resolve.

"Vase."

Instantly Shippo got to work, sniffing the ground, his initial idea was to just follow Inuyasha's scent trail, which he soon found out it led out everywhere. So he tried to remember what the vase smelled like, that light ceramic scent; but there was no way he could scent that over everything else. Yet he remembered that the vase was freshly polished and cleaned, so by simple deduction he should find something that smelled soapy.

Inuyasha watched him with curious golden eyes; so far the fox was doing well. This was more than just using your nose; you also had to think about the scent changes an object can go through. There is never just one simple smell on an object and it would be Shippo's task to sort them out. Soon the little fox kit emerged with the small vase in hand. Inuyasha passed him a proud smile, before calling out for the next article.

Throughout all this Sesshoumaru watched from his office window, a part of him was angered that Inuyasha was using family heirlooms in such a way, while another part of him was proud of his brother's incentive. The training he was giving the pup was pretty high-class if not a bit crude. It showed the Daiyoukai that Inuyasha wasn't lacking in his 'maternal' instincts to take care of his adopted pup. The Daiyoukai was impressed at how his little brother handled the pup when he brought back another hidden object.

A smirk tugged on his lips, his brother would make an excellent 'mother' one day.

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><p><em>So what do you think? <em>

_Review and join the dark side, we have cookies!_


	3. Suitors

_Hello everyone,_

_Sorry for taking so terribly long with my updates, I've just had a few personal problems that I've had to work through, but now things are better. To help keep up with everything I now have twitter, on which I usually post daily messages about which fic I'm currently working on etc. I also have a tumbler on which I'm posting small chapter extracts from all my fics, all of the links can be found on my profile page._

_Beta read by Kiya-chan!_

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><p>Chapter 3: Suitors<p>

If there was one thing that the Daiyoukai hated, it was paperwork, yes, he hated it even more than his Hanyou brother. Particularly when all the letters were in regards of a certain mutt.

Only three days had passed and the news of Inuyasha's beta status had spread across the demonic realm like fire. That's what all of these letter in front of him were about, marriage proposals from all corners of the land, trying to sweet talk him into letting them mate with the Hanyou. Sesshoumaru growled at how pathetic their gestures were. He knew their reasons of course, they were all the same, whoever mated with Inuyasha would have a say in being heir to the western lands.

Sesshoumaru would not allow it.

And it wasn't just because he didn't like the idea of some other youkai ruling his lands. No, because no matter how much he may despise the half-breed it did not mean that he didn't care. Even he wasn't as cruel as to mate his brother off to some random youkai who would most likely treat his little brother as a slave, or worse a toy. No Inuyoukai especially a son of his father would be treated as such.

A spicy scent caught his interests and Sesshoumaru couldn't help but growl when he felt that familiar stirring in his groin. This was another problem that he had to deal with. Inuyasha's heat was starting to affect him as well, which was an oddity really since normally he could simply ignore a submissives' scent. However this was different. His youkai understood Inuyasha's strength, he could literally taste it. They matched. Meaning of course that any pups they sired would also be of a high caliber. He could even admit that his brother wasn't too bad on the eye either, unlike most Hanyou's who were born disfigured. Again it was proof of the potency of his father's blood.

Overall though he thought his youkai was being foolish.

Sesshoumaru huffed leaning back in his chair, his mind still whirling. It wasn't unknown for siblings to mate with each other, at times it was even encouraged at times since it strengthened the bloodline unless political. Not recommended amongst those ningen, since it only managed to weaken their gene pool. Yet it did not mean that this Sesshoumaru would lower himself to mate with a half-breed. No matter how badly his youkai begged for it.

The Daiyoukai sighed as he set the papers down, the suitors would be coming soon, and the castle would have to prepare for their arrival. But what he was not looking forward to was how his brother was going to react, did what his brother ever say to him matter to him though.

Currently the brat should be with his tutors, or rather hiding from them. From the first day onwards Sesshoumaru told him that he would have to start taking on some duties, but he could only take on such responsibility with right education. Inuyasha wholeheartedly refused the offer of course, with his usual guster. Yet that did not matter to the Daiyoukai. Even if the half-breed didn't enjoy it he was going to learn, no matter how much he revolted.

His sensitive ears could pick up the shouting from below, angry tutors shouting at how uncouth and insolent the whelp was. He sighed again and raised his head to rub his forehead; this was starting to give him a migraine.

A knock on his door drew his attention. "Enter," he said, straightening himself in his seat.

A flustered badger youkai entered his office, his graying brown hair in disarray, wrinkled skin slick with sweat. "I'm sorry to intrude my lord, but the Hanyou is being stubborn again. He refused to cooperate and has even attacked some of the guards," he whined.

Sesshoumaru gave him an impassive look before standing up from his seat and moving past the flustered demon in the direction his brother was hiding. The stink from the half-breed was almost overpowering, his youkai was starting to react to and he had to force him it to calm itself. The closer he got to the brat the harder it seemed, but he was a Daiyoukai, not some weak minded curd. The thought that a damn Hanyou could penetrated through his decorum like this angered him.

Soon he found himself in the garden, the spicy scent leading him to a large tree which wasn't a too uncommon sight. The mutt seemed to prefer being surrounded by nature rather than the finery of the home. Inuyasha had been sulking on that tree all morning, it didn't take Sesshoumaru long to figure out why the Hanyou was upset. The miko had felt the energy of one of those shards nearby and they had gone to investigate. When Inuyasha also got ready to leave with them Sesshoumaru stopped him, obviously gaining a negative reaction from the brat. Probably hating himself for how he had given in to Sesshoumaru's alpha.

He watched the brat wallowing in his own self pity for a while, noticing the changes the young Hanyou was going through. His face appeared more slender, losing some its boyish baby fat. He had even grown a few inches, not anywhere near the same height as himself, but at least now he didn't look so much like a child anymore. The Hanyou's attitude still hadn't changed much.

"Half-breed, you should be with your tutor."

Inuyasha snorted in derision. "Those stuffy old geezers can't teach me anything that will be any use to me."

Sesshoumaru frowned at that. True, to an Hanyou who lived in the wilds a proper education would be of little use. However he wasn't out in the wild anymore.

"They're teaching you proper etiquette Hanyou, something which you obviously lack."

Inuyasha was growling under his breath. Sesshoumaru couldn't help but smirk inwardly. There was nothing more he enjoyed then to see the half-breed squirm. It was apparent that the brat's youkai didn't want to do anything to displease his natural alpha, but Inuyasha wanted to defy his instincts at all cost.

"Stop being so foolish half-breed, you're going to be staying here for a while so you might as well study."

The beta male huffed and turned away, which only managed to anger the Daiyoukai. He did not like being ignored, especially not by this mangy mutt. Sesshoumaru had a difficult enough day without Inuyasha acting like his usual stubborn self. He growled, jumping up on the same branch his despicable Otouto was sitting on, ready to force the brat on his knees. He was delighted by the look of fear that shadowed his face. He reached out quickly before Inuyasha could escape and grabbed the brat by the scruff of his neck.

Inuyasha whined and fought against his brother's grip, he knew he was probably going to be punished in some way, something he did not want to endure. But two arms wound around him his middle pulling him hard against his brother's chest; which only caused him to panic more, growled, digging his claws into his brother's arms, hoping he would be let go. Sesshoumaru hissed at the pain, he snarled, extending his canines and biting the back of his neck in anger.

The hanyou thinking that Sesshoumaru was going to rip his throat out, struggled even more, but there was something inside of him, a little voice saying that he should calm down. Simply go limp. Inuyasha couldn't even believe what his instincts were telling him to do. There was no way he was simply going to lay down and let his brother rip his jugular out, the growling got louder, filling his ears with such a ferocious sound that he thought he would go deaf. Those arms so tight he couldn't even breathe. Sesshoumaru was not letting go, and he was sure that those teeth were digging in so deep that he was starting to bleed.

So he decided to go limp.

Letting his body slump back against his brother's chest; letting his head simply loll to the side and hoped that in the next few seconds he wouldn't die. It took a while but the growling started to quiet down, he winced when those sharp teeth extracted themselves from his tender flesh. Inuyasha was more than ready to push his bastard brother away from him and run away but froze when he felt something warm and wet slobbering over his wound.

He was licking him!

Oh Kami, his brother was actually licking the back of his neck, but what shocked and confused him the most was how tenderly Sesshoumaru was tending his wound. It unnerved the hanyou what his brother was doing, his skin felt hypersensitive as the wet appendage glided across his skin and even though those strong arms around him had loosened Inuyasha still couldn't bring himself to move. His body felt hot, too hot in fact, his breath hitched as the tongue continued to move almost sinfully. The growl had quieted down to a light purr, something he didn't even know Inuyoukai, much less his brother could do that. His body grinding against his.

Inuyasha was panting by now, he was so consumed by the feeling that he didn't even notice that Sesshoumaru's hands were roaming over his body. Fingers that had somehow found themselves under his robe; wiggling under his hitoe so that the fingers were stroking along his chest. He shivered, his knees buckling beneath him. Heat started pool in his lower abdomen, it was strange he never felt like this before, he needed it to stop, he needed this just to-

"**Stop**!" he shouted. "**Sesshoumaru stop this**!"

It seemed to break Sesshoumaru out of whatever daze he had been in, instantly Inuyasha was released and the hanyou lost his balance and fell out of the tree onto the hard ground. He groaned, and slowly turned around to look up at his brother still up on the branch, staring down at him with a look of almost horror. Well it wasn't at first noticeable since his face showed no change in his facial features, but it was the slight widening of his eyes that gave away how shocked he truly was.

Inuyasha winced when Sesshoumaru jumped down from the branch landing right next to him, he expected him to lash out, and finally kill him. He didn't have anything to proper to defend himself since he had left his Tetsaiga back in his room. But his brother didn't even spare him a glance as he walked away from him. It was only when his brother had gone back inside did he release the breath he was holding, his body finally gave in and he collapsed onto the grassy ground.

What the hell had just happened?

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

Sesshoumaru stormed through the hallways, trying his best to get as far away from his brother's scent without making it look like he was running away. Not that he would run away from that brat, Inuyasha did not have such high influences over him. But that damn mongrel; making him act in such an 'undignified' manner. He was licking that mutt as if he actually cared about that filthy hanyou.

He shuddered when he thought back to that moment, that stupid little mongrels scent…

That strong scent surrounding him… by Kami it was stuck to his clothes, he was drenched in that half-breeds disgusting smell.

Kami he needed a bath… and to burn these damn clothes. Anything to get his brother's scent off him.

The Daiyoukai hurried towards the onsen where a servant was already waiting for him. "Get my bath ready."

The tanuki demoness bowed and followed him inside. The Onsen was part of a natural stream where the water had been pumped through the whole house. The female youkai hurried towards a small shelf where his personal soaps and oils were stored. She arranged them all on a tray and placed it on the edge of the rock base. Then she hurried towards another cabinet where freshly washed and dried towels were stored. She picked a couple of them and placed them safely next to the oils.

"Which scent would you like today my Lord?" she asked.

"Lavender," it should be enough to cover that half-breeds scent.

He started taking of his robes, dropping them to the ground in distaste and stepped towards the smaller bathing area where he could wash himself.

"Do you require my assistance my Lord?" she asked.

"No leave, take those clothes with you and dispose of them," he ordered her and turned his back to the demoness, effectively dismissing her.

As soon as the other youkai had left he sat down on a small stool, and pulled on a rope that opened a valve that protruded from the wall. Suddenly a stream of warm water flowed out of it, hitting the top of his head trickling through his smooth hair and down his neck. He sighed, moving his head around him, picking up a flannel cloth and wetting it before adding some soap. He started to scrub himself, trying his best to not start simply scour his skin raw to get rid of that damn scent. But he avoided touching his private area too much in case he got carried away like before. He couldn't allow himself to do that again.

Once he had finished washing himself clean and getting rid of the soap scum, he went towards the onsen. Climbing over the rocks with all the finesse a regal youkai like him was brought up with. He sat down on seats that were carved out of the rock face. He leaned back with a sigh. Finally being able to rest for the day, he could literally feel his muscles uncoiling themselves as the tension simply melted away. In one quick move he dunked himself under the hot water so that he was fully submerged.

Then he quickly came out of the water, taking a deep breath of air that helped him feel awake. He ran his clawed fingers through his hair, feeling out any tangled knots. He then reached towards the vials of oil; they were especially made for his hair, from the essence of an exotic seed from a far away land called a 'coconut'. It did wonders for his hair, leaving him sleek and shiny in such an extraordinary way like none of the other oils from Nippon could. He then used his ivory comb and then combed through his hair until all the tangles were all out before putting his hair up into a top-knot.

Then he sat back down into his seat finally enjoying his rest. Sesshoumaru enjoying how quiet the bathing area provided. Happy to be away from all that paperwork, documents, meetings, and… his half-breed brother.

Maybe brining that brat home was a bad idea, since he had come brining his ningen companion with him, he had brought him nothing but trouble. His manners were horrible, his refusal to go to his classes was infuriating, and now his scent was spiking up to the point of encompassing the whole castle. He could smell that damn mutt all over the place, wherever he went, even from his office which was the furthest room away from Inuyasha's chambers. Yet he could still smell him…

A warm spicy scent, like an apple orchard in full bloom, the scent of spring and summer that held an almost cleansing and calming effect on him. How warm that small body felt against him, a small hard body but such smooth skin, all lean muscles filled with so much coiled up potency. The fire in those golden orbs that felt like he was going to get burned. The way he panted when Sesshoumaru touched him…

Without even realizing he found his hand cupping his own member, stroking it slowly up and down getting himself hard. Sesshoumaru wanted to recoil in disgust, but he wasn't stopping. The scent of apple blossoms sticking to him as he continued to pump himself harder, teasing the tip of his engorged cock, the warm water helping to make the sensation more real. Tightening his fist, so as to squeeze the hard flesh as if he truly was inside the small body, pumping hard and fast inside that hanyou. To watch his eyes glaze over with pleasure, to pant and moan like the little bitch he was. Taming that wild beast into his personal lapdog.

His whole body stiffened as he came, with Inuyasha's name at the tip of his tongue.

Sesshoumaru slumped back, his back slamming against the stone wall, feeling completely and utterly content. It was only after a few minutes afterwards as he came down from his euphoric high that he realized that not only had he masturbated, something he had not done since he first reached maturity, but he had done so while thinking about that filthy cur of a half-breed that he was forced to call his brother.

He looked in disgust at the dirty water surrounding him, with a growl he stood up out of the water. He needed to have another wash.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

Kagome and the rest of the group came back later that day, another jewel shard now in their possession, and things returned back to normal. Although for some reason Sesshoumaru had been keeping his distance from him, something which both made him happy and unnerved him at the same time. Inuyasha didn't really know what to think. The inuhanyou was still trying to figure out what had happened between them, he simply didn't understand his brother's behavior. Although to be honest nothing his brother did made any sense to him.

Days had passed, and by now Inuyasha was finding it more and more difficult to manage his heat. Currently he was sitting in a cold bath, which was recommended to him by the healer to help him 'cool-down'. By now his heat would spike up and down, fluctuating almost painfully to the point that it actually started to hurt, like as if he was going to be boiled alive.

He had also been quiet 'affectionate' towards a certain male, not talking at all about his brother. The Inuhanyou sighed leaning forward so that his arms came to a rest on the rim of the bath, resting his head against them when he thought back to that day. He would never be able to look Miroku straight in the eye again. At the time it had been such a small action, but it spoke volumes to any Inuyoukai. For Inuyasha it was also one of the few Inuyoukai traits that he knew about.

Yesterday when he was feeling particularly restless, Miroku had suggested a spar to release some of that pent up 'frustration', Inuyasha had been all for it; well that was until he started thinking that the other male wasn't too bad on the eye. Worst of all he hadn't even felt any shock at noticing such a characteristic about his best friend. Then came the part that baffled him, he always fought at full power, he wasn't the type to humor anyone, since if no one in his pack could actually fight with him on par they would not be able to take on a beast like Naraku. He was the type to push and keep pushing.

Yet this time he didn't do that, to him it felt like his muscles were suddenly weighed down, his sword weighing a ton, his clothes feeling as if they were waterlogged. Even his mind felt delirious, as if he was poisoned. Next thing he knew, Miroku used his staff sweep under his legs causing his to lose balance and fall hard onto his back. When he opened his eyes the staff was aimed at his face, and almost instinctually he bared his neck to him. Bared it as a sign of submission.

Miroku didn't realize the meaning, but Inuyasha was mortified. He had slapped the staff away from his face and stood up as quickly as possible keeping his grouchy demeanor, hoping that the other hadn't noticed anything. Luckily he hadn't, instead Miroku was bragging about how he finally had gotten the better of him, and Inuyasha let him have that. Better giving into one loss then explaining what had really happened during that fight.

What he did however notice was Sesshoumaru's looming presence over looking from a balcony. Inuyasha didn't even know why, but he had started to blush uncontrollably at that moment, which luckily Miroku took as an embarrassed blush from his loss instead. He had run away after that moment, not being able to take both Sesshoumaru's stare and Miroku's mocking laughter.

Another sigh left him, Inuyasha couldn't believe all the incredibly stupid things he had to endure in the short time he had been back home. Kami, he just wanted to go back to Kaede's village, and hide by his Goshinko tree like he did every time he was upset.

After sitting in the bath for over an hour the water had lost its cool, so he decided to get out of it. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist before picking another up to dry his hair. He tried to do it like his mother had shown him, in sections, but he could never comb it properly afterwards. With the length of his hair it was a two person job, and asking Kagome was out of the question, she was too rough on his sensitive scalp even occasionally pulling on his ears with her brush.

He used his claws to get out the biggest knots so that his hair looked at least a bit more manageable, Inuyasha knew that if he ever got a chance to find a proper comb he would pay for this later. Then dried his body before getting dressed in his firerat robes, he tied his sash and went t pick up his sword. Inuyasha didn't want to be without it like last time when Sesshoumaru… he didn't want to think about that moment ever again.

He left the bathing area and was instantly met by Shippo who had been waiting for him outside. The kit had been oddly affectionate towards him lately. Still a brat, but certainly more affectionate. The kit stayed with him most of the time these days, curling up to him in bed, sitting beside him when he ate, or when they rested outside Shippo would keep close to him. Inuyasha tried not to think too much about it though, if there was a problem Shippo would come to him on his own time. Inuyasha leaned down so that the kittling could jump onto his shoulder. He rubbed his cheek against Inuyasha's in an almost sweet manner.

"What's wrong kid?" he asked.

"There's some'fink going on outside, some'fink big," he said excitedly while jumping up and down on his shoulder.

Inuyasha couldn't help but frown, he sniffed the air but then cursed inwardly when he realized how dulled his senses were, even his hearing had dulled. "Where?" he asked.

"Everyone's out in that big hall area, your bother has been really angry for some reason," the fox said thoughtfully.

Inuyasha nodded, and made his way towards where he remembered the gathering hall was, he rushed towards the general direction and after a few mishaps he finally found one of the side doors that lead inside the hall, and just like Shippo had said everyone was already there waiting for him. Sesshoumaru was standing by the in front of his seat, his posture regal and stiff just like always, with servant and advisors surrounding him. His friends were in the corner amongst a bunch of servants, even Rin was standing amongst them dressed in her finest Kimono.

At first Inuyasha was going to join them, when instead he felt an odd pull from his brother. The hanyou looked up and noticed his brother wasn't even looking at him, but he still could feel the pull of the Daiyoukai. With a sigh he bowed his head, so as not to show his annoyance, and slowly made his way towards were his brother was standing, who didn't even spare him a glance. Although he did notice how the older youkai seemed to almost wince at his close proximity.

Suddenly there was a loud rumbling sound that seemed to shake the walls, Sesshoumaru nodded towards a few of his servants who opened the wide double doors. It took six of them to open the five meter tall, heavy oak doors that lead out to the courtyard. At first Inuyasha couldn't see anything, in the distance, but the rumbling was getting louder. Suddenly there was a spark in the dark, almost like a firework going off, and just like that something fast came whizzing towards them moving at high-speed.

Inuyasha took a step back, but Sesshoumaru held his ground as the fireball zoomed through the double doors like a cannon, hitting the ground with a loud explosion. The force of the wind was so strong that some of the servants staggered back by the gust of wind. Shippo clutched onto his clothes tightly. The Daiyoukai barley blinked at all the commotion, he actually seemed very bored with the whole spectacle.

"Always did enjoy showing off…" Inuyasha head his brother mutter.

The hanyou was more than confused at what was happening, at first he thought they were expecting a guest, but this looked more like an attack, but Sesshoumaru didn't look worried at all. What the hell was going on here?

The smoke settled down to reveal a tall male, with long white hair that seems to have streaks of gold filtering through the strands, it came down thickly from the side of his head just enough to reveal the tip of his ears. He was beautiful just like most full blooded youkai, with deep silver eyes like pools of mercury. He was smirking, just enough to reveal a sharp canine. There weren't any markings on his face, but Inuyasha did glimpse something dark curling around the base of his neck disappearing beneath his crisp white formal robes.

It was then that Inuyasha realized that the demon in front of his was a dragon youkai, whom inuyasha was sure there weren't a lot of. The dragon youkai gave a light bow towards his brother, but Inuyasha was certain that the strangers eyes were focused on him. Something that Sesshoumaru seemed to have notice as well.

"It's good to see you Lord Sesshoumaru, thank you for welcoming me into your land," the youkai said, his voice holding a certain mocking tone, but he wasn't sure of it.

"You too Lord Ryuuwa Noboru, I was surprised when I received your letter…"

The visiting Lord chuckled, "How could I not when a certain rumor reached my ears." This time the youkai was staring directly at him making no show that he was hiding his interest.

Inuyasha felt himself freeze, Kami… he knew exactly what the rumors were about. After all there was no other major news expected what had happened to him. He knew exactly why this demon was here, and it did not bode well for him.

* * *

><p><em>Well there we have it, poor Inuyasha doesn't ever get a break.<em>

_Review and join the dark side we have cookies!_


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